Intertwined Fates (HopexVanille)
by SKape
Summary: Every fate, no matter how terrible it could be, is going to be way less frustrating if you have friends to share it with. Especially if you have someone that keeps your heart beating till the very end. The trip to Oerba won't just reveal their fates. HopexVanille (FF XIII) Dear Reader, English isn't my main language, I'm sorry for gramma/tense mistakes you might find in the Story.
1. Minds on other things

**(Disclaimer) All** **the rights for the used characters in this Story** **(As well as every other used element from the game)** **belong to Square Enix, for developing the original game on which my story is based on  
**

* * *

 **Chapter 1**

The six L'Cie went through the last part of the Yashas-Massiv that parted them from Vallis Middia, the place were they built up their camp.  
Hope went a little way behind the others to sort his thoughts a bit, because there are many things that are going trough his head at the moment.

One part of him was thinking about their future travel to Oerba, Vanille and Fangs home was the place where their last hope of salvation were lying.  
But it's still a long way to that place, even if they would hurry it will last at least two or three days, thats what Fang told them while they explored the Yashas-Massiv today. Three days could sound like a short time for normal people, but it feels like an eternity for a L'Cie, Hope knew that they don't have much time and it was a terrible thought for him to think about the possibility of witness their transformation into C'ieths, especially because he knows that he will be probably the first one whose time runs out, because of his emotional outbursts in the past.

Those unpleasant thoughts were one part, the other part was turning about the girl that he can't get out of his thoughts, he had no idea why but he couldn't stop thinking about Vanille, he really loves to hear her voice and he couldn't deny that he finds her very beautiful.  
He never felt something like this before and it is something that made him a bit uncertain because it feels like an impossibility to sort his feelings for her into a category.  
The thought of falling in love would be a complete new thing for the fourteen years old boy and he has no idea how to handle that kind of feelings, especially with his shyness. He had to fade out his thoughts as he noticed that they finally arrived at the camp, he looked at Vanille one last and short time before he started to help the others to build up the camp again.  
The sun was already low at the sky and colored it into a beautiful mixture of different tones of red and purple light.

* * *

 **This is the new first chapter that serves as a little introduction that shall help you a bit to imagine the direction of my story.  
I reworked it because I noticed that many people stopped reading after the first chapter and I can retrace why that happend, it was way too short and I think it wasn't written very well, sry. about this. I hope this is at least a bit better than the old one.  
** **Thank you for reading. ~SKape  
**


	2. Dreamy

**Chapter 2**

On their last rest before going forward trough the Achylte Steppe, Hope was glad to have some time to sort his Thoughts and feelings, he wanted to speak with Vanille on that last rest, maybe he could finally find out then why he feels so attracted by her, but his big problem was that Fang was always near Vanille at this evening, so it would have been impossible for him to catch her alone.  
But this wasn't the only problem, Snow seemed to need some more conversations and in addition to Hopes misfortune, it was a sure thing he chose him for a little talk about relationships.  
Sure it was interesting to hear how Snow and Serah got to know eatch other but after a little time this conversation was drifting into a direction Hope wanted to avoid:

,,So Hope, I told you my story and when are you supposed to tell me yours?"

While Snow was laughing, Hope was glad that no one was close enough to hear this talk, especially not Vanille.

,,Oh, come on, I can see how you look at Vanille, it's so obvious''

Hope could feel how his face blushed, he just stuttered:

,,T-There is nothing, believe me I j-just..."

,,Just keep saying this, you know that I'm right"

Snow brightly grinned and left Hope alone on the fire, Hope was kinda relieved that this Topic ended for now, even if he knew that Snow won't give up until Hope admits his little infatuation towards Vanille, When Snows focus would be to get that truth out of Hope, he would be a Cie'th in no-time, he looked in Vanilles direction again after he finished this thought.  
She sat there with Fang, talking and laughing and Hope noticed that a part of him really admired her cheerfulness despite their possible gloomy fate, suddenly he realized that someone stood in front of him, it was Vanille, she smiled at him and asked him friendly:

,,Are you allright?"

It was difficult for him to form normal words, because he wasn't really prepared for this sudden question, he was just paralyzed by her beautiful smile:

,,Ähh, Yes I'm ok, I was just thinking about something, and I didn't saw you coming"

He tried to smile and was surprized about that warmth that he suddenly feels.

,,Realy? you didnt? I came because you just looked in our direction the whole time and I wondered why"

She was giggling like she often does. Hope felt how his face became red, because he realized that he was starring at her the whole time without noticing it.

 _Oh please let it just be a dream._

,,Äh, sorry I-... I didn't really noticed that, maybe I am just tired" He finally answered

 _Glad, that I can speak after all._

he couldn't tell why, but Hope noticed how nervous he was. Was it really just because of Vanilles presence? He was just in time to understand what she said next:

,,Maybe, Then you should not overexert you, or we have to carry you tomorrow" she said teasing.

,,Ok I try to be fit for tomorrow, As long as you rest up enough too"

,,We'll see tomorrow who's fitter then, Good night Hope" She giggled and was going to go.

 _I should just tell her_

,,Vanille, wait!" she stopped and turned around.

,,Yes?"

,,I- äh... I wish you a good night too"

 _Damn_


	3. Fealing guilt and comfort

**Chapter 3**

Vanille writhed herself because of the despair she was feeling, while realizing that she destroyed everything that she wanted to protect, they were lying right in front of her, dead, all of them, her lies and actions changed and nearly destroyed the life of her friends, she looks down at the five lifeless Bodys, her tears that were running down her face, froze and captured her in the cold of grief.  
She couldnt cry anymore, she wanted but her throat was so dry that every single sob she made, hurted like a dagger that someone stabbed in her chest, she sank to the ground and gave up, she was sinking down the lake of tears, just to be swallowed by pure darkness.

The blanket on which she slept was totally wet when she woke upand her heart was beating way quicker than normal, she was just dreaming.  
That realization relieved her so much, it was such a horrible nightmare and she wanted to forget it as quickly as possible.  
It was still deep in night and Vanille stood up slowly, the others were still sleeping

 _No surprize at night_ she thought.

She stood up to move a bit, just to realize that her legs were very shaky and it costed her a lot effort to avoid falling back on her butt.

 _It was just a dream, nothing to worry about_ she wanted to believe this, but she couldn't forget this horrible scenes in her dream.

 _It felt so real_ she started to cry again, or maybe she did never stop since she awoke.

She started to reel around the place where the fire that they made burned just a few hours ago. She had to concentrate to avoid falling, but her view was still blurred by the countless tears that ran over her face.  
Suddenly she felt that something was watching her from the shrubbery behind her, she could avoid to scream when red eyes were wandering the darkness behind a few trees, the creature that she saw wasn't probably such a big and dangerous monster as she expected, but it was enough to scare her so she lost her balance and reeled backwards, Vanille stumbled over something behind her and fell on her back.

 _I am glad that nobody saw this_

She just heard a quite groan from somebody in front of her, probably the one she stumbled over, the person moved up and looked around confused.  
The shadow of the person came towards her after sighting her, she slowly recognized the silver haired boy in the darkness, it was Hope.  
He seemed a bit drowsy and confused when he joined her

,,What are you doing here so late Vanille? I almost believed an animal had attacked me" he gave her a sleepy smile while he looked at her inquisitively.

,,Oh, I am sorry that I woke you up, I... I was just going to go on a walk around the camp"

,,At night?"

,,Äh yes of course, I wanted to try out something new and the stars in the sky are so beautiful at this night" She had no real reason that would explain her activitys at this time, Vanille just tried to smile back to him, it really was just a try.

Now Hope got closer to her, he must have noticed her tears and the tremble in her weakend Voice. He gave her a worried look.

,,What happend Vanille? Are you ok?"

She almost couldnt answer, she just felt the tears running down her face again while she just sobbed:

,,I-I'm fine, I just... had a nightmare"

Suddenly Vanille felt Hopes hand at her face, he was gently brushing away the tears that ran down, after that, he hesitated but eventually took her carefully into a warm hug and said:

,,It's ok, you were always there for me, now I will do the same for you, at least I'll try. I will do anytime you need it, It just hurts to see you sad like that"

she was just speechless, no matter how much depressed she was a few minutes ago, she felt much better now and his deed cheered her up, because he managed to get her back out of her despair.

,,Thank you Hope" she tried again to smile and Hopes reaction told her that she found back to her old performance.

She felt his hands around hers and his eyes were looking deep into her eyes, while he said:

,,I am just glad that I could help you, I would do everything to make sure that this beautiful eyes, doesnt get filled with tears again" He smiled shyly at her and she could see, that it needed much courage for him to say that, but he did and she wouldn't forget those words.  
Then they just sat there for some minutes, enjoying the time together.  
After a while Hope asked her if she was really ok now, she ensured him that she was and he slowly returned to his blanket to continue his interrupted sleep.

Vanille just sat there for another four or five minutes, just smiling and thinking about what was going on with her when Hope comforted and complimented her in such a sweet way like no other boy did before, it's more accurate to say that there never was any boy who complimented something on her before.  
She stayed in those warm thoughts for a while before returning to her own blanket to sleep again.

 _The next dream wont be a nightmare, thats for sure_ That was her last thought before sinking into a blissful sleep.


	4. Melancholia

**Chapter 4**

,,We should go this way, but be quite, if you don't want do end up as Behemoth food" Fang said while pointing at a hole in the earth in front of them.  
There were so many Behemoths, maybe a whole horde, they were all sleeping, still. Fang knew that they couldn't win against that amount of this creatures, it would be difficult enough to take down one, but even this would be a pain.  
She went ahead, step by step without making the slightest sound, the other L'Cie followed her, slowly but successfuly.  
After sliding down the hole they were in a long tunnel, that was lighted by many torches at the walls.

,,Where are we now? Hope asked, astonished by the tunnels size.

,,This is an underground tunnel that extends in a way through the whole Achylte-steppe. Long time ago, it was a connection between the Mahabara stollen and Paddra, the ruin where we were as we looked around in the Yashas-Massiv. This tunnel is old and served the people as a save way from Mahabara to Paddra and vice versa, to evade the dangerous Achylte-steppe, even if the way to Paddra seems to be blocked by heavy rocks now, the other direction is still intact." Fang explained

,,Mahabara stollen? What kind of place is that?" Lightning asked.

,,It's a big tunnel system, made by the Fal'Cie Atmos, he is digging tunnels there for centuries" Vanille explained quickly, before Fang even had the chance to start talking.

 _Sometimes She's just to quick for me, it has always been like this_ She smiled barely visible.

,,Well and this Atmos thing?" Sazh involved himself in the conversation ,,What if it attacks us?"

"Atmos won't attack us, the Fal'Cies on Pulse are different from the Fal'Cies on Cocoon, most of the pulse-Fal'Cies are just working to expand and improve the nature here on Grand-Pulse, they are holding the balance of life here, actually they shouldn't be even interested in our buisnesses, as long as we don't provoce them." Fang explained to Sazh. He seemed to be relieved slightly now that he knows that they don't have to fight against every Fal'Cie they crossing ways with.

"Well, we should keep moving, it still seems to be a long way to Oerba and there is no time to waste, maybe we find a way to surmount our fate as L'Cie there" Snow said this, visible encouraged of the thought he could save Serah that way.

While going through the tunnel, Fang catches herself to be worried about Vanille.  
Her friend might not have enough time to get there, Fang doesn't even remember hers and Vanilles focus yet, she wanted to avoid that Vanille turns into a C'ieth, but she didn't even seemed to worry about that, as if she wouldn't care about her own fate.  
Another detail Fang noticed about Vanille was her sudden affection towards Hope, they were walking hand in hand and she sometimes clinged playfully at his arm while walking.  
But he doesn't seemed to be annoyed of it, quite the reverse, Hope seemed to enjoy this too, this fondly gaze, that he gave Vanille said more than thousands of words.  
Her childhood-friend seemed so happy right now despite their present situation. Fang was glad to see her like this, but nethertheless it was kind of unfamiliar, Fang never saw that kind of happiness in Vanilles face before, it was different from the happy and cheerful face that she had normally.  
Fang could see that this was more than just a childish game, but nethertheless she wasn't sure in what direction this would go and maybe it was even better for her to know nothing about it.  
Fang just wanted to forget those thoughts for now.  
Maybe she just interpreted to much in this scene that plays in front of her eyes.  
Or maybe she just felt a bit lonly.

 _No way..._

Fang never really cared about things like that kind of love, she was more like a lone wolf, together with Vanille of course, Vanille always was like a little sister for her, that she loves and cares for. Fang still remembered those beatiful and carefree days they spend together before they became L'Cie.

 _Good old times..._


	5. Mahabaras labyrinth

**Chapter 5**

For Hope it felt as if they would walk through the tunnels of the Mahabara stollen for days now, every tunnel is similar to all others.

 _Like laboratory rats in a maze, build by Fal'Cie_ he thought.

,,Could we please take a break, I am to old for hikes like this" Sazh moaned

,,Do you prefer to become a Cie'th? We have to keep moving". Fang answered with a annoyed tone in her voice.

,,Come on Fang there is no way that we find the exit when we're not able to give hundred percent in the fights that still await us here" Snow threw in.

,,Alright, but not more than half an hour, we don't have all day"

Hope thought that even someone so tough like Fang needs a break from time to time, there is no way that one of them could make it without some recreation.

He was glad, because he could just sit down and relax for a while now, he wondered about Vanilles sheer endless sprightliness, she seemed as lively as always and wanted to explore the next tunnel with him.

,,Hey, let's look around over there" she asked him and points to the dark way in front of them.

It was almost impossible for him to say no, when he saw the enthusiasm in her face.

 _Well, so much for the break_ he thought, but he couldn't let her go alone through this dark tunnel.

,,Sure, but we should't go to far away from the others, ok?" he smiles slightly.

,,Alright, lets go" she giggled, grabd his hand and ran away into the darkness with him, without anyone noticed.

The lamps on the walls were smashed and only the lights in the distance were proofs that the tunnel continued there.  
They arrived in the middle of the darkness, that made it impossible to see what waits on the next meters.  
Vanille walked gracile through the dark tunnel and soon it was difficult for Hope to see her. He almost ran into her when she suddenly stopped moving.

,,Do you hear this?" she asked him.

It wasn't easy but he heard the deafening sound too, it seemed to get louder every second.

,,Yes but what is this?" Whatever made this sound, it seemed to get closer

,,We should probably go back" He felt uneasily while the sound was getting louder and closer to them.

She giggled and said: ,,It's all ok, thats nothing but just a bit loud, don't wor-"

Suddenly something really big rushes past them with an incredible speed, maybe just five meters away from them.

,,This must be Atmos" Vanille said after the silence came back.

Hope wondered where the tunnel, Atmos left them, would lead. He wanted to say something but his words were interrupted by another loud sound from above them. Big rocks were falling down and Hope shouted:

,,Vanille! We have to get away from here!"

They ran away from the massiv rocks that came down, after a while they looked up from there hide, their hearts were beating quickly from the danger and adrenaline.  
They slowly stood up to go back to the others, but they stopped in front of a big wall of rocks that blocks the way through.  
Hope realized that they were isolated from their comrades now.  
They were both looking speechless to the inpenetrable wall, then they heard Fang, Snow and the others were calling out for them.

,,Vanille! Are you two behind that rocks? Vanille say something!" Her voice cracks with worry.

,,Yes we are!" Vanille slowly began to despair, when she realized what happend and what that means.

Hope heard a muffled noise from the other side, it was probably Fang who tried to smah the wall with her lance, she sounded desperate when she cursed, while fighting against the massiv rock.

,,Damn stone you won't seperate us, not now!"

Tears began to form in Vanilles eyes when she heard her friend who was fighting so desperate for her, Hope took her in his arms to comfort her.  
On the other side he heard the others who were discussing what to do now, Fang had finally stopped her unsuccessful try and involved herself to the conversation:

,,We have to find another way, quickly!"

,,Fang calm down, they're both strong too and I am sure it won't kill them to be alone for a short time" Snow said reassuring ,,But don't worry we will find a way to them, before it's even possible for them to get in danger" He added this when he saw that Fang wanted to start shouting around again, now she calmed down slowly.

Hope heard Lightnings voice while holding Vanille.

,,Hope, you both have to find another way out of here, Fang said there is a small place with plants and stuff, that splitts the Mahabara-stollen in two parts, from your part of the tunnel it shouldn't be a long way to this place, get there and wait for us to appear we will get there as fast as we can, but if you two can't manage to-"

,,This is not a question of can or can't Light, remember?" He interrupted her with a line Lightning told him in Piz-Vile.

,,Be quiet" She said with an audible smile.

,,Alright kids, stay calm, Sazh is going to save you" Sazh called out to them

,,We'll see who saves who later" Hope said teasing

,,Ok you have won, see you later then" Sazh answered jauntily.

The voices got quieter before they eventually ceases.

Vanille calmed down a bit for now

,,What should we do now?"

,,Well, I think we should search for the exit, even if I am not even sure if there is one somewhere"

,,We didn't find one before and we haven't much supplys just a few heal potions and one antidote, why should we find the exit just now, it's kinda hopeless" she was desperate, but fortunately her eyes remained dry this time.

Hope took her hand between his own hands and said:

,,I know this is a bad situation right now, but we stil have us and that is enough for me to keep fighting until we find what we search for, please keep fighting too"

She slowly seemed to gain new hope again

,,Yes you're right we can do this" She managed to smile again while saying this.

,,Glad to hear this, this is the Vanille again who I..." He blushes barely visible "...like so much" He smiles at her to hide the real reason of his blush.

,,Thank you" she giggles.

 _That was close... she really turns my head_


	6. Apart

**Chapter 6**

Hope hasn't accustomed yet to go hand in hand with Vanille, like they did already on the way to Mahabara. Nobody of them spoke out the idea of doing this, it just happend while they walked down the dark tunnel.  
They were still searching for an exit out of this spacious tunnel system and Hope almost gave up, but he felt responsible to be strong for Vanille.  
Vanille, that lively and beatiful girl who walks next to him was his reason to keep going right now, he wanted to tell her what he feels for her and this for a long time now, but he wanted to wait for the right Moment, definitely somewhere outside of those damn tunnels which slowly began to annoy him.  
He was so deep in his thoughts that he almost fall down to the ground when Vanille suddenly started to run.

,,Whats going on Vanille?" He had trouble to stay on his feet.

,,Don't you see those lights? That must be the daylight" she called hopefully.

They ran through the dark tunnel and straight to the lights that shined in, but their hope died once more when they finally entered the light, it wasn't the daylight that they saw.  
The two young L'Cie found themselve in a big shining cave, full off glittering crystals in all different colours.  
After handling the shock, Hope just stood there with an open mouth, he couldn't belive, that such a place existsted in an underground system like that. He could see Vanilles wide opened eyes, starring around this dreamlike place.

,,Wow, this so fantastic" she said enthusiastic.

,,Yes but we should..." He wanted to start, but he stopped when he noticed that Vanille was already running through the crystal cave.

Hope followed her without worry. He watched her how she ran around between the different kinds of crystals, laughing and beeing astonished like a little child. It was beautiful to see her happy like that.  
After a few minutes, Hope sat down on a stone, Vanille came to him and sat down too, right next to him.

,,Are you ok? she asked him

,,Yes, I'm just thinking about some things" he said preoccupied

,,For exampel?"

,,About you" he blushed slightly

,,Wh- What? Did I do something wrong" she looked worried at him

,,Don't worry, You did everything right" He smiled warmly

,,But what then?"

,,I was thinking about how happy it makes me to be with you now, I really enjoy to spend my time with you and-" He takes her hands and looks shy inside her green eyes ,,and I would be happy to be with you like that in the future too. You always gave me the warmth that I ever missed since I became a L'Cie, I feel it everytime when I see a smile on your beautiful face " he felt that his heartbeat is getting faster and stronger from the words he said to Vanille.

,,T-Thank you" she giggled and Hope could see how her face was blushing too.

She embrased Hopes body with her Arms and pulls him to her own body until the gap between them isn't wider than a sheet of paper.  
He feels her heartbeat, her warmth and her whole body.  
Hope was paralyzed by the immense amount of hormones that were rushing through his body right now, but nethertheless he started to return the embrace.  
Their eyes met and he noticed how close their faces were to each other, so near that he could feel her warm breath, he tried to imagine the taste of those beautiful red lips which were so near to his own. She slowly and hesitantly reduced the distance to his surprize and Hope realized what will happen in a few seconds, he instinctively tended his head a bit to avoid that their noises block the way. Vanilles lips nearly touches his.

 _This definitely will be. No, this definetly_ _ **is**_ _the best moment in my life_ he thought.

But an explosion and a fearsome scream interrupted the two, before they could even unite their lips for the first time.  
Hope fell almost from the stone when the incident occured.  
He could't believe that they were interrupted right now, it was such a ridiculous bad moment for this incident.

But what was the reason for this big explosion and what kind of scream was that.

 _This can't be a human_ was his first thought about the mysterious creature.

 _But no normal animal could cause such a big explosion, what was that?_

And now, a flying creature glided in the room, screaming once again so loud that they had to hold their ears closed

 _It seems to be a Cie'th! But it's so much stronger and so different from the other Cie'ths we already saw_

,,Oh no! It's a Cie'mar!" Vanille shouted

,,What is a Cie'mar?" Hope asked confused, while they lied on the ground to avoid to get detected

,,A very strong Cie'th that posseses much more killing-potenzial. There isn't any more knowledge about these creatures because no one ever survived a confrontation like that" The fear in her voice proved that she was telling the truth about Cie'mar.

,,Oh great" He said ironically and added: ,,It seems to search something"

 _Or someone_

,,We should hope that it doesn't find us" Vanille whispered

The stone in front of them was shattered with a loud sound and the Cie'mar prepared a new attack now, Vanille and Hope dodged the attack and prepared themselve for the fight, they combined their firaga and blizzaga to a mighty attack and fired it to the Cie'mar, it hitted, but the creature was as healthy as before and flew straight to Hope now, stretching it's sharp claws to bring about a terrible massacre over the young boy.  
Hope was just in time to use one of his defence abilitys to reduce the damage, he escaped the attack with a big scratch at his arm, he swallowed the hurt to throw his bumerang for a counterattack, while Vanille healed him with a cure spell.  
The Creature screamed and prepared for the next attack.

,,Vanille, I'm sure this thing is weak against physical attacks, we can't hurt it with any magical spell!" Hope called

,,Got it, but what should we do now, you know that most of our attacks are magical"

,,I'll distract it, try to attack him with your binding rod while it concentrates on me"

,,Ok, but please be careful" she answered worried

The winged beast was attacking anew now, Hope dodged the attack and jumped away from Vanille, to get her in a safer position.  
She took her rod, and attacked the enemy, the spikes on the end of her weapon, bored into the screaming creature and hurted it audible.  
The Cie'mar flew in front of Hope now and released a scream which let him going down on his knees, Hope was unable to act and he saw that their enemy was on the way for another attack now.

 _I- I have to move on now, this damn debuffs!_

It was to late, he already felt a heavy strenght against his chest and flew a few steps back.  
Everything on his body hurts now, but he stood up and continued to distract the enemy, he wasn't sure how much he could still take

 _Some more attacks and I'm finished_ he thought.

Vanille still attacked the creature and it was noticeable weaker than before.  
Hope dodged another attack and used his counterattack again, this and Vanilles attack hitted it almost simultaneously and the Cie'mar collapsed and went to the ground, but instead of just dying, the corpse of the creature glided slowly into the air and exploded in a giant shock wave and strange gas.  
Hope and Vanille were smashed against the wall and fell down unconscious on the ground, the gas was spreading now.

After a few minutes, Hope woke up in the gasified room and felt kinda ill, it was a struggle to stand up, but his conscious was clear again when he realized that he couldn't see Vanille.

 _I have to find her!_

He searched the corner where he woke up and found her still unconscious, he tried to wake her up but she wasn't moving

 _Please no, she can't be..., no this can't be_ He felt the tears which ran out of his eyes

 _I have to get us out of here_ he coughed painfully when he tried to remember where the exit was.

He covered Vanilles mouth gently with his necktie, to reduce the gas that she had to breathe in.

 _If she is still breathing_ he thought desperately

He took Vanille up to carry her and then he searched for an exit out of this cave.  
Suddenly something exploded in the air a few meters away and he went down with Vanille and covered her body, Hope felt that some small and sharp projectiles bored in his Body, but he stil continued to protect her from the danger in this place.  
The projectile hail stopped and Hope resumed his search for an exit with Vanille in his hands

 _She looks as if she would just sleep, sweet as always_ He tried to smile

He gropes his way through the gas and couldn't believe it when he finally had found the exit.

 _Finally!_

He ran further and further, he ran until he was sure that they were out of danger, then he laid Vanille down on the ground as gently as he could, but still shored her head with his hand.  
That gas they were in, poisoned them, Hope felt that he couldn't use his healing magic anymore, means they were affected from a fog and a strong poison effect.

 _Couldn't be much more worse_

He took the one antidote that they had and made the decision in no time.  
He made a second attempt to wake her up and shook her gently.

,,Vanille! Please wake up" His tears ran again, but no signs of life

,,Vanille! You can't go right now, you are such an important person for me, so please Vanille just wake up, I couldn't even tell you yet that I-" His words were interrupted by another coughing fit, much more worse than the others before.  
His tears ran down and he wasn't able to breathe normally anymore because of his despair and the persistent cough.  
But then, he saw how she finally opened her eyes and looked at him.

,,Vanille! You're alive! Please drink this, the antidote will heal you from the poison" he said slightly relieved

She opened her mouth slowly and he led the reddish liquid carefully into her mouth, she swallowed it without a word.

,,How do you feel now?" Hope wanted to know after a Little while, still shoring her head with his left hand.

,,Much better than before, thank you" she said quietly

Hope used his right hand now to brush away the residue of liquid from her lips. She giggled and sat up.

,,What is this on your back, you are bleeding!" She said worried and Hope remembered the sharp projectiles that went through his back, he didn't realized the small puddle of blood that had formed behind him.

,,Well" he turned arround so Vanille can see it ,,I don't know what this is, I just know it's sharp" he said with a pained smile

,,That are crystal shards" She said bewildered and began to pull the shards carefully out of Hopes back, he just writhed himself because of another coughing fit that made him weaker from time to time.

,,Are you really ok Hope? That doesn't sound good" She asked once more.

,,I think that I might be still poisoned from the toxic gas, the Cie'mar released" he answered shortly

,,But thats horrible, don't we still have some antidote?"

,,No, I gave you the only one we had"

,,But-"

,,Please don't worry, it was my own choice and I won't regred it, no matter what happens" he gave her a comforting smile

,,Ok then, You saved my life and from now on it's my turn again to help you" She took the last shard out of him and took a cloth out of her skirt pocket to clean the blood from his back.  
She tapped him on the shoulder after a while.

,,Yes?" He asked confused

,,I want to clean up the blood from your body but... I can't do this because of your jacket" she told him hesitating

,,O-Ok, I understand" His face blushed and he started to undress his jacket and his shirt.

,,Just relax, I do not bite" she giggled and started to clean his back

He coughed again and his body trembled because of the poison.

,,Still feeling ok?" she asked

,,Sure, as long as you are on my side" he smiled, still painfully but warmly at her

,,How sweet from you, thank you" She giggled again and gave him a quick soft kiss on his cheek.

Hopes face was visible red now and he was glad that Vanille was just behind him so she couldn't see his blush.  
Vanille finished her work after a while and stood up to clean the cloth she used.  
Hope pulled his shirt and his jacket back on and said:

,,I think we should go on soon, the others must be worried" he said and tried to suppress another coughing fit.

,,Yes your right, and you need help because of the poison, the others should have some antidote left"

,,I hope so"

,,Don't worry, we'll can make it" She said hopefully

,,Alright, lets go then"

They entered the next weak lighted tunnel and were gone just a few meters when Hope suddenly felt how his forces dwindled away rapidly and he was forced to stop walking, he perceived Vanille who turned around slowly, a few meters in front of him.  
He coughed painfully and his view blurred piece by piece.  
The last thing he noticed was Vanilles worried voice, before he finally sank to the ground.  
Complete darkness followed. He slowly fell into a world of nothingness.

* * *

Fang was still worried about her friend, Vanille usually was a tough girl but her problem was that she starts to cry very easily.  
This distraction already brought her in danger very often before and Fang was unsure if Hope would really be able to protect her in such a situation.  
Inwardly she tended to answer this question with no.  
They already found the exit a little while ago, but Hope and Vanille weren't there, so they went back into the tunnels to search for them.

,,I hope the kids are ok, that tunnel system, gets even me to despair" Sazh groaned

,,Well, this isn't too difficult old man" Snow laughed and added ,,But I admit that I am worried a bit too, they were alone for a unusual long time now"

,,Yes, I hope we can rely on their good sense" Lightning said worried

,,What do you mean with this sister?" Snow asked, knowing that he teased her with the designation of sister

,,First, I'm not your sister at all" she replied audible annoyed ,,And secondly, I'm not sure if they can manage to stay on the way without getting distracted from other things"

,,Just calm down a bit, I'm sure they are already on the right way" Snow wanted to relax the atmosphere.

Fang wasn't interested to discuss, she wanted to find Vanille and Hope quickly.  
She didn't want to think about how far Vanilles stigma had progressed already.

Suddenly she heard a familiar voice, just a weak sob, but it was unmistakable Vanilles voice.  
Fang started to run in the direction of the sob.

,,What? Fang wait!" Snow called, when the upset woman ran into the darkness.

The confused L'Cie followed their comrade, unable to understand her sudden excitement.  
Fang ran through the darkness, following the voice of Vanille until she finally saw her.  
Vanille sat on the ground while holding the motionless Hope in her arms.  
She cried and the despair in her voice was heartbreaking for Fang.  
She went over to Vanille to find out what happened.  
The other L'Cie gathered around the tragic scene.

,,H-He needs" Her voice was weak and she had to catch new breath first, before she could continue ,,He needs some antidote quickly, we were poisened b-by a Cie'mar explosion, please hurry" she stammered

Lightning ran over to them and let the liquid slide into his mouth, but the young boy remained without reaction.

,,Come on Hope swallow it!" Lightning said worried

,,What about you Vanille, are you still poisoned too?" Fang wanted to know

,,N-No but I were, Hope gave me the only antidote we had, I didn't know that, he-... he just gave me the only medicine and said that I shouldn't worry, I believed him that he was ok, but I was so mistaken!" Her tears ran down again and Fang noticed the little puddle that had already formed

Fang took Vanille into her arms and said: ,,It isn't your fault, I'm sure he will convalesce and I am sure too, that it would break his heart if he would have to see you sad like this when he awakes"

She noticed that Vanille calmed down a bit but Fang still kept her into her arms to avoid more tears which would probably begin to flow again if she would have to see the unconscious Hope again.

The others sat down around Hope to wait for another sign of life, while they're overseeing his still weak and slow pulse and heartbeat.

After a while, they decided to make a rest over the night, at the exit they found.  
Snow carried Hope the short way to the planted area between the two parts of Mahabara and laid him down on a blanket, so he could convalesce in peace, while the others prepared the rest of their modest nightcamp.  
Once the other L'Cie were sleeping, Fang went to Vanille who was still sitting on the fire that they made.

,,Are you alright Vanille?" Fang asked her calm

,,I am still worried about Hope but it is as you said, he would want to see me happy when he awakes and not sad like this" she said with a slight smile

,,You got it now, but I'd like to know what you two experienced at your little adventure, I'm excited to find out what happened you know" She looked expectant to Vanille, who smiled brighter now:

,,Well, It began all in that crystal cave, when..." She told Fang nearly everything of their adventure in detail.  
She just omitted off the parts, as they came a bit closer in the crystal cave and the harmless kiss that she gave him while he was shirtless.  
Fang was impressed of the adventure Vanille and Hope had, and she rethought her impression that she had of the boy, he saved Vanille and risked his own life for her.  
She never really expected this from him.  
But there was one other thing she noticed in Vanilles story.

,,Say Vanille, you not told me anything about what happened between entering that crystal cave and the fight against the Cie'mar, what was going on at this time?" Fang asked with a sassy smile on her lips

,,Äh that,... this was just a harmless conversation, nothing big, really" Vanilles face blushed and Fang began to laugh

,,You can tell me Vanille, my lips are sealed" She gave Vanille a gentle pat on her shoulder

,,Alright, but please promise me not to laugh"

,,Ok, I can try" Fang said teasing.

* * *

 ** _Thank you for reading until this point, I am glad that there are really people who read this and I thank you for any review you eventually write, because I can't really assess how bad/good the story is for you readers (It's the first fanfiction in my lifetime). I'm already on the work for chapter 7 and would appreciate any feedback that you might have for me. If you have critics or suggestions, you can write it to me, so that I know what I could do better in the future._**

 ** _Thx. and nice greetings ~SKape_**


	7. Awakening

**Chapter 7**

Hope woke up from a loud and familiar voice behind him and just for a moment he couldn't believe to see the sky above him.  
The voice he heard was definetly Snows voice who said that they will be back soon, whoever was meant with that.  
He slowly sat up to examine where he was, he saw a small amount of trees around him and the ground consisted of hard and dry rocks.

 _Where am I?_ It was just one of many questions he wanted to ask, but another familiar voice took him out of his thoughts

,,Welcome back kid" It was Fang, she stood behind him and looked down to him

,,Äh, hey Fang, where are we here?"

,,We are on a road near the Teajin tower, we have to get through it in order to get to Oerba"

,,Seems like I missed something, the last thing I remember is how Vanille and I searched for a way out of Mahabara..."

,,You were knocked out a long time and so you missed the journey out of Mahabara and trough the whole Sülyya Quell, but now that you are awake, you can make yourself useful by getting some supplies from the fruit trees back there" She pointed to a plantation of trees down the road.

,,Got it" He said motivated and started to run

,,Hey kid!" Fang called and Hope stopped immediately ,,Thank you for keeping Vanille save, I owe you something"

,,It's all right Fang, I'm just glad I could help. Is Vanille still ok?"

,,She's still a bit worried about you but otherwise she is lively as ever, I send her to a little river in the west to get some water"

,,Good to hear that she is ok"

,,Yes but now go, you have a task, remember?"

,,Ok" He said and started to run again in the direction of the fruit trees which Fang showed him.  
On his way he could see the Taejin Tower in the distance, it was an impressive but very damaged construction and he asked himself if the tower really was damaged or if it was planed to look like it does now.  
 _And what about the Fal'Cie that lives there?_ None of them could expect seriously that this Fal'Cie would let them trough it's territory without a fight.

 _This whole fighting is slowly getting really annoy-_

He didn't noticed that he already was so near the trees and ran accidentally against one of them. Hope groaned quietly.

 _That was kinda... embarrassing_

He finally started to pick off the little fruits on the first tree, that one which already greeted him with it's rough bark.  
The fruits reminded him on a very similar kind of fruit that grew in cocoon too, they were called cherrys there. Hope always loved cherrys, his mum sometimes brought a whole basket full of cherrys home and they used them for many homemade cakes and Desserts.  
When he was younger, it was always fun to play with the little red fruits while baking in the kitchen, he remembered a photo that he and his parents took after having this kind of fun, they had red stains everywhere in their faces as well as all over their whole clothes.  
He smiled at the thought, but it also hurt when he realized that this time was over now, his mother was gone and he didn't know if his father was still alive at the moment. The only thing he could do for him was to follow the advice that his father had given him before Hope had to leave him.  
He said that he shall make his own decisions, nothing else would matter, but it wasn't always easy to make own decisions when you lived your whole life as an unknowing slave of the Fal'Cie.

The sky was already colored in a beautiful mix of different warm colors, when Hope finally arrived at the prepared camp.  
His hands were red from the whole fruits he picked of, but he was still satisfied with his harvest, two full baskets, so many that he had trouble to get it all back to the camp.

,,Good job, kid" Fang told him laudatory ,,That are enough fruits for days, but someone will have to carry the over lasting residues trough the tower tomorrow" She continued while pointing to him.

,,But Fang" Hope moaned desperate

She just began to laugh ,,Don't worry kid, I think Snow will assume that task with a smile"

,,What? Fang dont be silly, thats not fair" Snow came over and started to moan too

,,You two would make good brothers, one lazier than the other" said Fang with a bright smile

,,Hey!" The two called simultaneously

,,See?" She laughed again "Well, I still must prepare the meal together with Vanille, see you guys later" Then she went towards Vanille who already waited for her friend.

,,You look like you murdered someone just with your hands" Snow joked and teased his younger friend when he saw Hopes red hands

,,Not yet Snow" He teased him back and they both began to laugh.

,,And what about the little scratches on your face, sign of a fight of life and death between you and one of those dangerous fruit trees?" He laughed loud, while Hope blushed slightly

,,Kinda..." He said embarressed and Snow couldn't stop laughing after this

,,Damn trees, on Cocoon they would start to purge all the trees now, dead or alife" That brought even Hope to laughing like a little child.

A little while later they all sat together on a provisionally built table to eat their dinner.  
Vanille and Fang prepared a real three-course-dinner, they made a salat from the plants out here as appetizer and some steaks from todays hunt for the main course.

,,This is so delicious, you two made a really good job" Hope said in the direction of Fang and Vanille

,,I agree, I could eat tonnes of this food" Snow added happiely while he gulped down the food

,,Yes, better than any other meal, that I ever ate on cocoon" Lightning admitted

,,A big applause for the chefs here" Sazh pointed at Fang and Vanille and began to clap,

the other L'Cie followed him and the two pulsian L'Cie blushed a bit

,,Thank you, we're happy that you like it" Vanille said giggling and Fang added:

,,Wait until you guys see the dessert" She smiled and brought a plate with a big cherry pie.

,,Well, Bon appetite!" Vanille said smiling, when Fang putted down the plate with the pie on the table.

It costed Hope very much self-control to not pounce directly over the entire pie, even if his stomach had already enough from the previous courses, but luckily he was able to wait polite, while the others were taking their pieces of the pie.

 _Dont want to be a impetuous wolverine in Vanilles eyes_

He was the last one who took a piece of the gorgeous looking pie and he couldn't await to have a taste of this, monster of a pie.

They started to eat and Hopes sense of taste was crying tears of joy, he couldn't speak because of this super delicious pie, even if he could he wouldn't have much time for it because he had already the next piece of pie in his mouth everytime he swallowed the last Piece, so there was absolutely no time to speak.  
The others seemed to enjoy it similar, just with the difference that everyone except him and Snow were eating a bit slowlier.

,,I think we don't have to ask you two anymore if you liked the dessert" Fang said satisfied to Hope and Snow

,,I could imagine that Snow is able to eat such an amount of food, but Hope really exceeds all my imaginations" Vanille giggled cheerfully

Hope looked up after her words and the entire round began to laugh, even Lightning suddenly started to laugh, but he had no idea why they were all laughing now.

,,W-What is so funny now?" He asked confused and Vanille, who sat next to him gave him a little crystal shard that should serve as a little mirror and he saw directly that parts of his face were full of cream from the pie, he gave her the shard back and said embarressed:

,,Uh, Maybe I was a bit too hungry"

,,You could say so, its a miracle that you're not exploded yet" Sazh said amused

,,I never thought that someone could ever rival me when it comes to eating" Snow said laughing while he patted Hope on his shoulder.

,,But you have to admit Hope,..." Vanille started, as she used one finger to brush away a bit cream from Hopes right cheek, just to eat it by herself ,,...its still tasty" she giggled again. In response, he took some cream from his other cheek in order to distribute the light-red cream gently trough her face

,,Hey, stop it" she laughed now visible cheerfully

,,I think it would be unfair to withhold you your own creation" He joined in her laughing

The other L'Cie laughed too while they slowly started to stand up from the table.

,,You two should go and clean your faces at the river, you look like you fall into the pie instead of eating it" Lightning said this with a warm smile to Hope and Vanille

,,Alright we'll be back soon" Hope answered her

,,See you later guys" Vanilled called cheerfully as they started to go

,,I would really like to learn how you and Fang made this fantastic meals, will you show me someday Vanille?" Hope asked her interested

,,Yes, but just under one condition" She told him smiling

,,And what would that be?"

,,You have to do it yourself" She answered cheerfully "We can do this when we rest in Oerba, Fang will be happy to have at least one free day to relax a bit and then we can cook together, this will be fun"

,,Good, I'm in"

,,Great! We will impress the others with something better than the courses at this dinner!" she said visible excited

,,Better than that cherry pie?" He couldn't believe that there was something better than that

,,Sure, this was just the beginning"

,,And what do you plan for that dinner?"

,,Well, I... I don't know yet, but I'm sure we will find some good ideas"

,,Of course we will" he said happily

They finally arrived on the river and began to clean their creamy faces.  
After he had finished, Hope wanted to look after Vanille if she was ready to go back too, he turned around to her, but Vanille had pulled down her top to her stomach, to clean her upper body too and he accidentally saw her naked upper body plus her uncovered breasts before he could even react.  
He blushed strongly and began to apologize sheepishly after he turned around again.

,,I- I didn't know that..., s-sorry Vanille" He stuttered embarressed, with his obvious red face

Hope was relieved when he heard her giggle, while she pulled up her top again

,,It's ok Hope, as long as you don't complain about what you saw" she said happily

,,O-Of course I don't complain, y-you have a really pretty body, ähh wait, what I mean is..."

 _Oh man, why can't I keep my mouth shut for once_

She began to laugh, but nethertheless he could see that she blushed slightly, suddenly she started to run

,,We should get back, before the others begin to worry" She called while she still laughed

,,Yes, but shouldn't we go back together?" He asked while he began to run too

,,Try to catch me if you can" She called playfully

He just laughed, while he slowly came closer to her.

The other L'Cie were already sleeping when they entered the little camp together, they almost couldn't believe that it was already so late, but it seemed like they were away a bit to long.  
They just had to search the darkness for their blankets, that they had for sleeping.  
Normally everyone had one, but Hope remembered that they needed one for the table and Vanille used her's for this purpose.  
It was nearly impossible to take the blanket from the table without making any noise, so he decided to offer Vanille his blanket so that at least she could have a warm sleep, but she rejected his idea, she suggested that they should rather share the blanket instead so nobody of them would have to feel cold tonight, he hesitated because the idea to sleep with Vanille under one blanket made him clearly nervous.  
She sat down on the ground and pointed on the place next to her

,,Its ok" She told him to reassure him

He still hesitated but eventually sat down on her left side

,,As long as you feel ok with this" He smiled slightly and slowly layed down on the ground

She smiled warmly while she layed down too and rested her head on his chest while he took her into a slight embrace with his right arm, before he finally placed the blanket in position.  
Vanille fell asleep quickly and Hope looked into her sleeping face one last time before he closed his own eyes too

,,Good night Vanille" He whispered before the sleep overcame him.


	8. Hopeless

**Chapter 8**

,,There was nothing last night, I swear Fang!"

Vanilles face blushed and she knew that this doesn't made her statement very believable but she was still embarressed by Fangs insinuation that she spoke out while they walked trough the Taejin Tower.  
It was a blessing for Vanille that the six L'Cie divided into three groups when they arrived in the main hall.  
Fang wanted to go with Vanille, she said that she wanted to settle something with Vanille and so, Hope and Snow formed the second and Lightning and Sazh the third group. And now, Fang was asking her out about something she doesnt wanted to talk about whether it really happend or not.  
Fang seemed still a bit upset about the sight she had when she wanted to wake up Vanille this morning.  
The young girl shared one blanket with Hope over the night and they layed very close to each other while they slept.  
Vanille knew that it had to be a strange sight for their comrades to see them both so close like this, but Fang just doesn't wanted to believe her that.

,,You can swear as much as you want missy, I know what I saw and I can tell you that this isn't really the right time to have erotic nights like that, especially not in this age!"

,,But Fang, we really never thought about something like that, we only had one blanket when we came back and he offered me to use it myself, but you can't really expect me to let him in the cold while I have it warm and fleecy"

,,I understand your reason for sharing the blanket, but I thought the blanket would suffice to keep you two warm but do you really had to cuddle around like a careless couple?" Fang asked with a self-assured smile and her gaze showed how curious she was to here Vanilles answer to that

,,We just... kept us warm, we really did not intend to go further or even... i-intimate" She stuttered now and the blush in her face got noticeable stronger.

,,I really hope that for you two, just look at that age gap between you two, maybe he doesn't even know what you are doing with him, when you flirt with him so playfully"

,,I did nothing" Vanille replied sheepishly ,,And what do you mean with that age gap arguement? I don't think it really matters how old we are. As far as I know, I have the right to like whoever I want, and actually the age difference between us isn't so big!" It annoyed her a bit that Fang really complained about the age gap between her and Hope.

She knew that 14 wasn't the perfect age for him to get confronted with topics like girls, or even love relationships, especially as a L'Cie with a possible fate as a C'ieth, while they're searching for a way to avoid that future, but everytime knowing that their time slowly runs out.  
But she never wanted to rush it that way, at least not in such an extreme way like Fang thought now, actually she planned to wait a bit with it, maybe four or five years until he is old enough to show interest in this topics on his own.  
If they all really survive this L'Cie thing, there would be still enough time to begin anew, without being haunted and attacked at every moment.

 _Maybe we all can still become a real family together after surviving this_ It was a thought that cheerd her up a bit

,,Are you listening me?" Fangs words brought her out of her thoughts

,,Huh? Oh I'm sorry, what did you say?" Vanille answered a bit surprized

Fang groaned before she repeated herself:

,,I said that I'am just worried about you, you give your heart away without even knowing if anyone of us will survive this adventure, I mean, what would you do if someone of us turns into a C'ieth, just before we figured out how to avoid our L'Cie fate? Hopes emotions, for exampel, aren't really stable because of the things that happend in his past, I really can't accuse him this, but you know that such emotional outbursts like his past ones, mean that his time expires quicker than normal"

,,Do you think he will... you really think that at least one of us won't survive it?" Her smile was already gone again.

,,Sorry, this wasn't what I meant, I just want that you are prepared for the case" but Vanille still wasn't really relieved and Fang continued then:

,,It don't has to come true like this it's just a possibility. we'll can live on without worry, if we find a way to surmount our focus, so just forget what I said about that, ok?" Fang smiled warmly to cheer her red haired comrade up a bit.

,,Ok..." She smiled, even if she couldn't get this questions out of her head.

What would happen if someone of them really fails to stay alive?  
Will all what they have done, be in vain in the end?  
It hurt to think about possible answers.

 _And again I'm just hiding, to not face the truth. A truth that doesn't even allows space for naive dreams and hopes like mine..._

* * *

 **This chapter might be changed a bit in the future, because I personally think the story content is a bit small in this chapter. I'm still unsure about that.  
** **p.s. Sorry for the delayed upload, but I was ill most of the week and so I preferred to wait with the writing until I felt a bit better, sorry about that.** **~SKape**


	9. Confession

**Chapter 9**

Hope noticed the dejected atmosphere as well as anyone else, when they got out of the elevator which transported them to the white ground on the foot of the tower.  
Nobody said a word since they entered the strange elevator and it seemed like nobody wanted to break the silence.  
There was no need for words to describe what everyone was thinking.  
Vanille and Fang seemed still shocked about the sight of their destroyed home which they saw from the top of the Taejin tower.  
Lightning and Snow seemingly took already farewell to the hope of seeing Serah again, the same applied to Sazh who wanted to free his son Dajh.  
And Hope? He already accepted what happend, he lost his mom and the right to live a peaceful life on his home planet, he also was unsure if he would be able to see his father again, maybe he got killed like many other people because he had contact with them.  
But nethertheless he wanted to keep fighting for the future and especially for his friends, they shall not loose their future too.  
He wanted that Lightning and Snow finally get Serah back, that Sazh would be able to take his son into his arms again and he wanted that Fang and Vanille can live again as carefree as in the past, before they became L'Cie.  
Hope's thoughts stayed at Vanille, the girl he fell in love with.  
He didn't want to lose her, but he was willing to throw away his own life without hesitation, if it would be the only chance to save her from a gloomy future.  
His thoughts were interrupted by a groan next to him.

,,Seems like nobody survived, the only inhabitants are C'ieth" Fang said this with an annoyed tone, while they walked through the white landscape.

,,Neither did plants or animals, everything seems dead here" added Vanille with a sad sight.

,,So this is Oerba?" Lightning asked audible disappointed

,,Yes, or rather whats left of it" Fang answered

,,Great, how shall we find something in those ruins?" Sazh sighed

,,Don't know, at least we should try" Hope wanted to motivate his comrades, but he knew how improbable it was that he reaches this goal.

,,Hmm, lets split up again, maybe that increases our chance to find some hints" at least Snow seemed to be interested about Hopes Suggestion to keep going.

The six L'Cie decided to execute that plan and splitted up into the same groups as in the tower.  
Hope and Snow decided to start with the decayed houses in the center of Oerba.  
At first it was a struggle to get there, because of the multitude of C'ieth that wandered through the streets, but nethertheless they were able to fight their way to the center. Their attacks still harmonized as previously in Palumpolum and Hope still wondered why he hated Snow such a long time, he protected him throughout their whole journey through his hometown and they were a good team back then.  
The way was free once the last C'ieth they fought fell and they entered the first floor of the house in front of them.  
It was a small room and it was surprisingly tidy in the multifunctional one room flat.  
There was everything what you could need to live, a small kitchen, a few beds, one big table and a lot other things.

,,I can really imagine how the people lived here, like one big family" Snow said fascinated

,,Yes and everything seems still intact" Hopes sight went to a little picture on the table that showed Fang and Vanille.

,,Look, here is a photo of Vanille and Fang"

,,Oh right, this photo seems pretty old and nethertheless I see no difference between the Vanille and Fang on the photo and the two today" Snow said

,,Right and I hope that it stays like this" Hope managed to show a slight smile

,,You really like her, don't you?" Snow asked with a calm voice

,,Yes..."

,,Finally you admitted it" he said contentedly ,,And, does she know it?" he continued asking curiously.

,,I don't know because I haven't told her yet " Hope answered hesitating

,,Why? I think she would be happy to know something like that and maybe you two become more than friends after a while"

,,Could be, but I don't know if we're already old enough for such a relationship, and I also never really dared to tell her"

,,Well, I think that age is irrelevant for love. You dont have to marry her right now, just listen to her and try to comfort her when she's sad. Give her the feeling that she's important to you. Just like in that one night" He said the last sentence with a cheeky smile.

,,Wait, w-what do you mean?" Hopes face blushed slightly

,,You know exactly what I mean, It was a sweet sight to see you both asleep together like this. Fang was a bit upset, but don't worry, I've regulated this"

,,What did you say?"

,,I just said that it's sure better to lose the own virginity than to lose the own life" He began to laugh

,,You did what? B-But we didn't... Really we never did something like this" Hopes face blushed three times darker than ever before.

,,Haha, don't worry I was just joking back then"

,,It's a miracle that she hasn't killed you after that joke"

,,It's possible that Fang doesn't noticed that I was joking, she went away before I could have solved it" He began to scratch the back of his head

,,Oh man, Fang sure hates me now..." Hope said depressed

,,Just stay calm, I'm sure she has already abreacted herself, but I would still be careful when you fumble around with Vanille in public the next time" He started to laugh again and tapped Hope on the shoulder.

,,I'm a dead boy..." He said while smiling painfully"

,,Just relax, I'll regulate this someday" Snow replied self-assured

,,Wait until she impales us with her lance, then you know how good you can regulate things" Hope began to laugh slightly

,,Come on, I'm a expert in regulating thing, you'll see" He tried to defend himself and they both started to laugh.

After a while, Snow seemed to notice that they totally forgot to search for hints to solve their L'Cie problem:

,,Maybe we should slowly continue our search, I think we werent really much productive till now" He said with a bright smile.

,,Maybe your right, I think I'll just take the photo to give it Vanille, maybe it cheers her up a bit to see something from old times and she can show it Fang then, after I coincidentally disappeared from the scene." Hope answered, unsure about the question if he could ever dare again someday to come in Fangs proximity again without having her Lance at his throat.

,,You can't run away forever Hope" Snow said amused

,,At least I can try and you shouldn't forget that it's possible your fault that she probably hates me now"

,,Not at all, you slept with Vanille, remember?" Snow grinned cheeky

,,But we were just sleeping, there was nothing intimate!" Hope moaned and he knew that he was chanceless in this discussion

,,Well I think we're done here, it's getting late, so we should finally meet with the others again and we'll surely have enough time later to discuss your relationship problems" Snow said teasing.

Hope suppressed the retort which he had on his tongue over Snows sassy comment and followed him out of the room.  
It was already late and the sky was already coloured into a dark orange tone.  
Lightning and Sazh already waited impatient in front of the house, they didn't seem to had been successful as well and Hope could already think of the atmosphere for the next days, there will be a lot of work to do, at least thats what he thought.

,,Did you two found something?" Lightning asked slightly annoyed

,,No, Nothing relevant. What about you two?" Snow replied

,,Of course not, it's impossible to find something in this mess, even if we would know what we're looking for it would take an eternity to find it here" Sazh moaned visible exhausted

,,What about Vanille and Fang? Where are they?" Hope wanted to know

,,They are still down at the lake, should be back soon. We must find a place now where we can spend the night" Lightning answered

,,The house here is still intact, that would be a possibility" Snow pointed to the house which they had searched through

,,Good, lets start with the preparations for the night then" Lightning said

,,Shouldn't we wait for Vanille and Fang?" Hope asked hesitant

,,They'll sure find us" She reassured him

,,Ok" He wasn't really satisfied with this answer, because he wanted to talk with Vanille today, it occupied him the whole day until now that she seemed so dejected on the Taejin Tower a little while ago.  
But he wasn't really in the constitution to stay awake the whole night in order to wait for her arrival.  
He layed down on one of the mattresses on the ground, after they prepared the room for the night together, now he had finally time to rest up.  
It took not a long time until he was able to fall asleep.  
The last thing he heard was a voice who had told something about an old railway bridge which they allegedly had planned to explore tomorrow.


	10. Affection

**Chapter 10**

Hope could have sworn that he was so tired on the evening before, that he would even sleep through the entire next day, but to his own surprize, he woke up at a time where the sun wasn't even visible on the sky.  
It was still dark in the room, where they all spent the night and Snows snoring was another proof for him that it wasn't the time for their group to set off, but he was sure that something had woken him up on purpose.  
Suddenly Hope felt a hand on his arm, which gently shook at him and he was startled by virtue of this unexpected touch.  
There followed a whisper from a familar voice and he was unsure if he was still dreaming.  
He just heard the damped whisper from the person that came noticeable nearer now:  
,,Hope? Hope are you awake?"  
,,Yes, whats going on?" He asked still a bit drowsy while he was finally able to recognize the conspicuous red hair that almost hang in his face  
,,I want to show you something, just follow me" She whispered to him and sneaked thereupon out of the room.

Hope wanted to reply something but she was already gone again.  
He just sighed quietly and decided to get up slowly, in order to carefully surmount the way between his mattress and the old door that led to the outside.  
It was still pretty cold to this time and Hope began to freeze a bit, while he walked down the rosty stairs.  
Vanille already waited in front of the house for him when he came down, she grabbed his arm and started to run without any warning.

,,Is it really necessary that we run like this?" Hope asked confused, while he tried to keep pace.

,,We should better be back before the others wake up" she answered cheerfully

,,Did you at least informed someone about this little walk?" He wanted to know, even if he could already imagine the answer.

,,Nope" She replied shortly and slowed down the tempo a bit as they arrived at a, for Hope unknown place that was different than the rest of Oerba, not so destroyed.  
They entered a surprisingly large meadow, which roughly had the same size of the central place of Oerba.  
There were flowers all over the place and Hope could imagine why Vanille was so impressed of the place.

,,I never thought that such a beautiful place like this still exists here" He said astonished

,,Fang and I had found this place yesterday when we were looking for something relevant" she replied and began to lead him through the flower Meadow.

,,I guess thats the reason why you two were away so long?" He asked smiling

,,This is quite possible, Fang wanted to go back, but I didn't even wanted to think about leaving this place so quickly. It's like a little paradise for me that helps me a bit to forget our bleak situation" Vanille said while she looked at the colorful flowers

,,I'm glad to hear that, I was a bit worried about you because you seemed a bit dejected after you saw the current situation of Oerba" Hope commented thoughtfully

,,Yes I was, but I realized some things that helped me to surmount this thoughts, so I can face it later. By the way, it's sweet that you're worried, Thank you" She smiled warmly at him and made a few steps towards him.

The shortened distance to Vanille made him a bit nervous again, it wasn't the first time that they were so close to each other but nethertheless he felt like everytime before, nervous and somewhat excited.  
Suddenly he remembered the photo that he found, it was still in his jacket pocket and he decided that this was a good time to give it to her.

,,Äh, I found this in one of the houses yesterday" He took the photo out of his pocket and handed it to her. She looked surprized at the old photo and began to giggle slightly

,,I wouldn't have expected that this photo still exists, we had taken the photo after we finished our first hunt together, how the time flies" She said this visible happy, rather to herself than to him.

Hope was happy that she seemed to be pleased about the found photo, but he also noticed that the dawn already had began which means that it was time to go back.

 _The others will probably wake up soon and I don't want to imagine how upset Fang will be when she realizes that Vanille isn't there._ He became a bit uneasy, while he thought about the possible consequences.

,,Well, I think it's probably time to go back, the others could be already awake" He turned to the rising sun while he said this.

,,Hmm, but there is one other thing I want to do, before we go" She shortened the distance to him again and laid her left hand on his right shoulder.

He felt her hand and was confused because he couldn't imagine what she wanted to do now, there was not really any time at the moment, at least thats what he thought at this time.  
He turned around to her, but he couldn't even say a word as she put her arms around his upper body while she leaned her whole body against him and began to press her lips against his.  
Hope felt how he lost his balance as a result of this unexpected kiss, he eventually fell with her backwards into the grass.  
Now he layed their in the meadow between grass and flowers, while Vanille layed on top of him, she folded her arms on his chest and began to giggle:

,,I admit, that was unexpected" she said giggling.

The completely confused and happy boy could barely form a word, he just stuttered:  
,,D-Do you really think I was prepared for this? It's the first time that I got kissed by a girl like this"

,,For me it was the first real kiss too and it was so wonderful wasn't it?"

,,Of course it was" He admitted still smiling, unable to do something else at this moment.  
This feeling was much better than he ever thought it would be and he completly discarded the idea to go back, he just wanted to stay here with Vanille.  
Something inside him told him that he wouldn't regret it.

* * *

Vanille was sure that it was time now to play with open cards, now that she layed on top of the boy for whom she raved.  
At the time where she had planned this, she thought it would already satisfy her to kiss him, she almost swore to herself to not overdo it, but now where Vanille saw his confused but sweet smile it overcame her a certain desire for more.

 _It cannot hurt to go a little bit further_ she thought and started to kiss him again.

After a while she felt that Hope began to reciprocate her kisses and it kinda excited her even more.  
Vanille started to increase the intensity of her kisses while she slowly rolled off him and onto her side, she pulled him close again until there was no place between them while the intensity and the amount of their kisses continued to grow, but she still wanted more even if she was totally aware about their age and the limit which they should keep, nethertheless they were almost still kids.  
This fact was the only thing that still made it possible for her to hold back for now, even if she was almost on the best way to flout this unspoken limit.  
She hooked her legs into his to build up more contact while she thought about possibilitys to inflame the atmosphere a bit more, without risking an escalation.  
While thinking about this, she suddenly felt Hopes hands on a surprisingly high position on her thigs, she gasped slightly and noted with pleasure that he seems to become braver now.  
,,S-sorry" Hope said sheepish while he hesitantly started to take his hands of her thighs. Probably he interpreted her reaction wrong.  
She immediately took his hands and put them back where they were.  
,,Don't be silly, you may place your hands everywhere you want, as long as you keep them on me" she smiled reassuringly and brought her lips back to his with more urgency to emphasize her desire for him.  
In her point of view, this was perfect and she wanted to make this moment even more perfect, something inside her told her that it was time for the next stage.  
Maybe the current situation blurred her mind a bit, but at the moment she felt more than ready to go further with him, she just wanted to forget everything that was happening around them.  
He unknowingly gave her all those feelings for which she longingly had been waited a long time now and so she finally decided to go on, in the hope that he felt the same.

,,Hope?" She spoke to him between kisses

,,Yes?"

,,Can I ask you something?" she asked hesitantly and felt that her heart began to race.

,,Sure" He answered visible in love and she began to kiss him again, while she started to tell him her idea

,,I would like to go further than this... I mean just if you want, we could-" Her sentence was interrupted by an audible sigh from a few meters away and the two passionate loving ones seperated their united lips instantaneous by the shock of the sudden sound.

,,Why did I know that I would find you two here" It was Fang and they both were startled by her sudden appearing

,,Wh-What are you doing here Fang?" Vanille asked while she blushed just like Hope

,,What I do here? I should ask you the same question because we searched for you two everywhere here in Oerba" Fang replied slightly annoyed

,,Sorry, I just showed Hope the place which we found yesterday" She tried to explain desperately

,,Just showing him the place, of course" She called with a slight smile, after a moment she added:  
,,Better you two get ready now, we all wanted to explore the old railway bridge today to search for something that could help us with the L'Cie thing, the others are already waiting down the road" She told them this and went back to probably meet up with the others again.

,,She was not as upset as I thought she would be" Hope said hesitantly while he stood up.

He offered Vanille his hand to help her up and she took it thankfully. Her thoughts were still a bit blurred because she was brought out of her uncontrolled and passionate feelings so sudden, but maybe it was the best for them to wait with advanced actions like this, even if they still have no guarantee whether they will ever get the chance to do something like this again because of their L'Cie problem.

,,Do you think we'll be able to repeat this someday?" Vanille eventually asked him

,,We'll have enough time to do everything what you want, if we have finally solved this L'Cie issue" He replied with a warm smile

,,Ok lets make a promise, that we'll stay together like this in the future" She held her pinky finger in his direction.

,,No matter what, promised" He smiled at her and linked his pinky in hers.

,,Shall we go now?" He asked after a while

,,Sure" she answered and they started to go hand in hand along the overgrown way to meet their friends again

* * *

Fang finally was back at the forked road where she left the other three L'Cie and she could already imagine the bewildered faces of her comrades when she'll has to explain where Hope and Vanille were and what they did there.  
Lightning was the first one who took the word:

,,Do you found them?" she asked with a mix of worry and annoyance

,,Yep I did, they were exactly where I expected them to be" Fank told her pink haired mate with a relaxed voice.

,,And why the hell did they go without saying a word?" Lightning seemed pretty upset

,,Hmm I cant tell for sure, but I could imagine that they wanted some privacy for their little... lovegames" Fang proclaimed with a mischievous smile on her lips

,,Lovegames?" The ex-soldier seemed pretty irritated now.

Snows big hand landed on her shoulder while he laughed loudly:

,,Seems like little Hope and Vanille slowly grow up sis"

,,I'm still not your sister!" she said annoyed

,,Wait, wait Fang, are you really saying that those two innocent kids were... I- I mean they really had se-?" Sazh involved himselve in the talk now with a distraught facial impression, but Fang interrupted him before he could speak it out.

,,Oh god no! No they still had there clothes on, they didn't go THAT far" This was a picture that not even she wanted to have in her thoughts.

,,But..." she finally continued with a laugh ,,As far as I could read Vanilles gaze, this hadn't lasted much longer, she stared at him like a famished beast of prey and they both seemed pretty unrestrained as they lay on the ground there and did their thing"

,,We really should have an eye on this, I mean they're still kids" Sazh sighed

,,Come on, we should let them their freedom, as long as it doesn't totally escalate" Snow interjected understandingly

,,I really don't need to see that again" Fang said a bit quieter because she already saw the young pair, that finally came towards her and the others.

,,Are we going now?" Her red haired friend asked them innocently

,,Äh right, the railway bridge, sure, we were just waiting for you two" Sazh answered and started as the first one to walk, Lightning and Snow followed him shortly thereafter, while Fang started to go on as the last one, she went directly behind Vanille and Hope.  
The woman looked at the hand in hand walking kids with curiosity.

,,Are you two feeling good?" She asked after a while

,,Yep, very good" They both answered nearly simultaneously before they started to giggle

,,You're crazy" Fang said smiling as she clapped them gently from behind onto their shoulders

She could already see their decided destination from down here, and just for a little second there she thought that there was something at the end of the bridge, some kind of silhouette.  
Unfortunately the sun was blinding her too much and she was forced to look away for a short time, but the silhouette seemed to be dissappeard as she looked in the direction again.

* * *

 **This Chapter is the end of the Story, I hope you enjoyed it at least a bit and I also would like to hear your opinions about this Story, no matter if positive or negative ones. I will also continue to work on the Story, because I want to try to erase at least a few mistakes that I might find and I still don't know how to rate the Story, I think chapter 1-9 are ok if I rate it 'T' but I don't know if I have to rate the Story 'M' now because of the last chapter (I really don't know the limits there), maybe you have some suggestions regarding this.  
I will also make a new story with the older Hope soon. _(edit: Will take a bit longer, got a lot of pressure with work the last few months, sorry about this)_  
Thank you for reading this story and thank you for any possible kind of Review. I appreciate it. :)  
Nice Greetings ~SKape**


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